The following reflection is part of an ongoing series about the life of St. Dominic & the Order of Friars Preachers. A Dominican friar who later became pope, Benedict XI (1240 – 1304) was born Nicholas Boccasina to poor parents in Treviso, Italy. As a child, he was placed in the care of an uncle Read more…
Read MoreThe following reflection is part of an ongoing series about the life of St. Dominic & the Order of Friars Preachers. A great philosopher and theologian, esteemed by many as the greatest Doctor of the Church and the “Universal Teacher of the Church,” Thomas Aquinas (1225 – 74) devoted his life to teaching, preaching, and Read more…
Read MoreThe following reflection is part of an ongoing series about the life of St. Dominic & the Order of Friars Preachers. Peter of Verona (1205 – 52) was the first canonized martyr of the Dominican Order. Born in Verona, Italy, of parents who had embraced the heresy of Cartharism, he was educated at the University Read more…
Read MoreThe following reflection is part of an ongoing series about the life of St. Dominic & the Order of Friars Preachers. Of all the early Dominican writers, Humbert of Romans (1200 – 1277), the fifth master general of the Order, most clearly recapitulated the Dominican ideal. His major concern was to help his brothers understand Read more…
Read MoreThe following reflection is part of an ongoing series about the life of St. Dominic & the Order of Friars Preachers. A noted writer of sermons and scriptural commentaries and a leading Dominican bishop, Bartholomew of Breganza (1201 – 70) was born in Vicenza, Italy, and educated at the University of Padua. During his studies Read more…
Read MoreThe following reflection is part of an ongoing series about the life of St. Dominic & the Order of Friars Preachers. Known as the “Apostle of Poland,” Hyacinth (1185 – 1257) was born of a noble family in Silesia. Trained as a priest, he was appointed a canon by his uncle, the bishop of Krakow, Read more…
Read MoreThe following reflection is part of an ongoing series about the life of St. Dominic & the Order of Friars Preachers. At the Second General Chapter, held in Bologna in 1221, the Dominican Order’s expansion throughout Christendom was planned in detail. The chapter fathers appointed Paul (d. 1241), a doctor of canon law from Bologna, Read more…
Read MoreThe following reflection is part of an ongoing series about the life of St. Dominic & the Order of Friars Preachers. Mannes (ca. 1170-1235), an older brother of Dominic, was contemplative and holy. He placed himself under his brothers guidance at least from the foundation of the Dominican Order and perhaps even much earlier. Mannes Read more…
Read MoreThe following reflection is part of an ongoing series about the life of St. Dominic & the Order of Friars Preachers. According to tradition, Dominic’s mother–Jane of Aza, also known as Joanna–had a dream before her son’s conception in which she saw a hound racing through the world igniting everything with a flaming torch. Troubled Read more…
Read MoreThe following reflection is part of an ongoing series about the life of St. Dominic & the Order of Friars Preachers. Popular devotion to Dominic increased after his death, and in 1234, only 13 years later, he was canonized by Pope Gregory IX, formerly Cardinal Ugolino, who earlier had been his patron. Canonization involved two Read more…
Read More